I'm normally one to temper my expectations, but ...

I am excited to see what they can do in a real game but my expectations are not through the roof they are pretty much just playing catch right now with two average at best pass defenses in the eagles and there own defense

I wish we spent an extra ten bucks to get Emmanuel Sanders, but this certainly is an amazing opportunity for these rookies to seize the moment. They certainly couldn't be in a better situation.

mgteich said:

... especially those who think that younger is almost always better.

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Except I'm not one of those people.

On the plus side, if I'm ever trapped in a fire, I know exactly where to get a wet blanket.

patsfan-1982 said:

I am excited to see what they can do in a real game but my expectations are not through the roof they are pretty much just playing catch right now with two average at best pass defenses in the eagles and there own defense

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True but it doent matter if a prime Dion Sanders or a 3rd stringer is covering our receivers during Pre Season. If TB and the receivers are/are not on the same page it will be somewhat obvious. The D has nothing to do with that.

Don't let Deus Irae see this thread. :bricks:

Anne Malene DK said:

Ha. Me too. It's ridiculous. We sound a bit like Miami fans. Highest drafted rookie is still drafted lower than Tavon was last year, so... maybe the won't make us forget Randy by week 3. But then all the more reason to dream now, while we can.

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Ya but Tavon Wilson doesn't have the greatest QB throwing him the ball and the last time McDaniels had a say in receivers he did pretty decently in Thomas and Decker.

Not saying these guys are gonna come out and be the best receiving core ever but i'm hopeful these guys could be solid.

Tunescribe said:

Don't let Deus Irae see this thread. :bricks:

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It's all good, because I haven't seen a Deus post in about six months running.

What have the patriots done to bolster their secondary?

No one is talking about this. They have done nothing to Bolster their secondary.

Adrian Wilson that's it.

Terrible.

i have taken the dobson kool-aid. i am super excited by his potential. amendola could be the perfect slot replacement. gronk should be on the field october at the latest. everything is looking great!!!!

on the other hand, OL depth is a little concerning and CB corps is thin too. and tavon is a bust, just throwing that out there.

these are my first reactions to training camp news before preseason games begin

Bruins29 said:

True but it doent matter if a prime Dion Sanders or a 3rd stringer is covering our receivers during Pre Season. If TB and the receivers are/are not on the same page it will be somewhat obvious. The D has nothing to do with that.

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the thing that I am saying is they have not even played a preseason game yet they are really just playing catch right now...and yes the defense has everything to do with that if the WR can get open then Brady will find him that whole being on the same page with Brady thing is BS just look at who they said that about,

Taylor Price, 5 career rec 3 of them with Brady,
Brandon Tate, 14 rec since he left the pats
Joey Galloway, had 12 more rec before he was forced to retire
Chad Johnson, 15 rec with the pats and now he's out of the NFL

patsfan-1982 said:

the thing that I am saying is they have not even played a preseason game yet they are really just playing catch right now...and yes the defense has everything to do with that if the WR can get open then Brady will find him that whole being on the same page with Brady thing is BS just look at who they said that about,

Taylor Price, 5 career rec 3 of them with Brady,
Brandon Tate, 14 rec since he left the pats
Joey Galloway, had 12 more rec before he was forced to retire
Chad Johnson, 15 rec with the pats and now he's out of the NFL

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I don't recall that being said about any of those four guys, especially Chad Johnson. His whole knock was that he couldn't learn the playbook at all.

PatsWickedPissah said:

As long as the 51st TD player doesn't subsequently murder someone & ruin the highlight film, I'm good.

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Imagine if AHern had caught a game winning the TD in the Super Bowl. THAT would have been an awkward highlight.

patsfan-1982 said:

the thing that I am saying is they have not even played a preseason game yet they are really just playing catch right now...and yes the defense has everything to do with that if the WR can get open then Brady will find him that whole being on the same page with Brady thing is BS just look at who they said that about,

Taylor Price, 5 career rec 3 of them with Brady,
Brandon Tate, 14 rec since he left the pats
Joey Galloway, had 12 more rec before he was forced to retire
Chad Johnson, 15 rec with the pats and now he's out of the NFL

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Only one of which looked any good in the preseason. :confused2:

Remember years back when we went a whole training camp/preseason projecting how awesome Bam Childress would be as a pro?

It's right to be optimistic -- we should be, since it seems like the young guys are really tearing it up and wowing people -- but it's important not to lose sight of what that really means. They could be great, but it's entirely plausible none of them are ready to start yet.

Unless you are placing large wagers on preseason games there is no risk to going completely overboard with excitement about the possibilities. Dobson can get deep and go up and get balls even when he is covered. Sudfeld is a fluid 6'7" receiver with too much athleticism and speed to be covered by LBs and way too much size for a safety. Boyce has the speed to rip seam routes into big plays at any moment. And Thomkins is the best route runner of all of them and creates separation all over the field. Let optimism run amok!

patsfan-1982 said:

the thing that I am saying is they have not even played a preseason game yet they are really just playing catch right now...and yes the defense has everything to do with that if the WR can get open then Brady will find him that whole being on the same page with Brady thing is BS just look at who they said that about,

Taylor Price, 5 career rec 3 of them with Brady,
Brandon Tate, 14 rec since he left the pats
Joey Galloway, had 12 more rec before he was forced to retire
Chad Johnson, 15 rec with the pats and now he's out of the NFL

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None of those guys looked as good in training camp as these young guys have. Galloway and Ocho were lost from day one, Price and Tate didn't even participate as rookies, and never made much of a mark in any capacity thereafter. Honestly, right now you could probably say that all three of the rookies are far ahead of where Price and Tate were in their second years, let alone as rookies.

If the young guys work out, I think the story coming out of it will be that they really benefited from a training camp without Welker, Gronk, Branch and Hernandez. In the past, if a rookie ****ed up too badly, Brady would basically stop even looking their way, but he just won't be able to do that this season. In the short term, it'll make for a bumpy ride, but I expect that in the long run it will really help with these guys' development.

What everyone seems to be overlooking is that those other receivers from prior years had to crack the line-up in order to get the playing/practice time that would lead to their improvement. These guys are going to see a lot more reps right out of the gate. Of course that doesn't guarantee anything, but I am hopeful that it will help to speed up their growth curve.

BradyFTW! said:

Remember years back when we went a whole training camp/preseason projecting how awesome Bam Childress would be as a pro?

It's right to be optimistic -- we should be, since it seems like the young guys are really tearing it up and wowing people -- but it's important not to lose sight of what that really means. They could be great, but it's entirely plausible none of them are ready to start yet.

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I agree with you in principle, but I remember Bam Childress a little differently. Disclaimer, I wasn't following TC reports nearly as closely then, so it's possible I'm totally wrong, but I remember the hype from Childress being his performance in preseason games, specifically, in the 2nd half of preseason games with a different QB throwing to him against the opponents 2nd/3rd string defense. I don't recall Childress getting this much play with the 1's in camp.

Haven't read all the posts in this thread but just wanted to chime in and say that I'm glad they are committed to developing the rookies instead of going with stiffs like Deion Branch, Brandon Lloyd, Reche Caldwell etc..etc.. No disrespect to Branch, he just lost all his athleticism when he got hurt.

That being said, I'm more cautious in my optimism than most.

Let's say that these receivers end up being Gronk/AHern good or close to that level. How would their acquisition and the circumstances surrounding their acquisition rank in the pantheon of great BB moves?